Spent this
evening chatting and having a few beers with the African Union team
that has just been to the west (Darfur) to arrange the logistics for
a peace monitoring effort. We sat on the roof of my political officer,
also part of the team. It cooled down rapidly tonight. Fell to 98
degrees by 7:30. But it was still 98 at 10pm. There were lots of
people out at clubs, restaurants and on the street. On the way back, passed one
well-lit place with two people in full body costumes out in front.
They were waving and looking jolly. The costumes were furry and, I
am quite sure, like a sauna inside. One was a rabbit. The ears
drooped and the arms were too long for the person, so they drooped
too. I hope it is shift work.
As
usual, drove through the new phase of road construction. Lots of it
going on. Roads are being broadened and extended. This is very
necessary because of the burgeoning traffic congestion. But roads
are built or rebuilt without any discernible attention to alternate
traffic routes. Sometimes, you'll come to a street that used to go
somewhere but now ends in a ditch or pile of dirt. Sometimes, you'll
be riding on an old road when it stops. You can see the new road
ahead or to the side but you'll need to go over some rough ground to
get there. Everybody going both ways faces the same challenge. So
the traffic backs up and everyone runs for whatever space they can
get. Soon, everyone is lost in the dust, especially at night. The
same thing happens in reverse. You'll be zooming down a nice new
paved road until suddenly it stops. There may or may not be another
road in sight. My driver always seems to know where to go and
eventually we get there.
My
favorite example of road work is a large exchange near the embassy.
Four lanes of traffic meet at a major intersection. The old
intersection: a couple of dirt roads plus a paved one. They are
building a new exchange which is sorely needed. Only problem is that
while they are building it, where the old one used to be, there is
now no official intersection at all. Instead, the two roads pass
close enough together that traffic "leaks" from one to the
other over maybe 20 feet of construction area. Here traffic congeals
and cars pass each other every which way and up. I like to think of
it as a macro example of the physics phenomenon of "quantum
tunneling." Particles from two different realms get so close
they just sort of "pass through" barriers to magically
reach the other side. Who needs an actual intersection. That is so
old physics!
